Colonel Blood and the theft of the Crown Jewels

There has been one near successful attempt to steal the Crown Jewels, this took place in 1671
and was masterminded by Colonel Blood. Blood was an Irish adventurer, who already had several
daring exploits to his discredit, one of which was a plot to seize Dublin Castle. At the
time of the Restoration his lands had been confiscated, leaving him bitter and penniless.

Blood's plan commenced by making himself familiar to the Assistant Keeper
of the Jewels, a seventy-six year old ex-soldier called Talbot Edwards
who lived with his wife and family in the Martin Tower (left) at the Tower of London. To supplement his
wages, Talbot was allowed to show the jewels to visitors for a fee. Dressed
convincingly as a parson, Blood came accompanied with a woman whom he addressed
as his wife. She expressed a wish to see the crown and Edwards obliged.
At this time the jewels were stored in a cupboard behind a wired grille
in the Martin Tower. Having seen the jewels, the lady was seized with a
violently upset stomach. This gained the pair admission to Edwards' private
apartments, where the kindly Edwards lead them and allowed her to recuperate
on a bed.

The 'parson' returned a few days later, bringing a gift of a pair of gloves
as a gesture of thanks to Mrs Edwards, he was warmly received by the unsuspecting
couple and invited to call again. The next time he did, Blood remarked that
the Edwards had a daughter of marriageable age and raised the possibility
that a marriage could be arranged between her and a nephew of his, whom,
to whet their appetite, he added, was possessed of three hundred a year
in land. The gullible Edwards' expressed themselves very interested and
invited their visitor to come for dinner a few days later.

During his following visit, Blood piously said grace over the meal and
expressed his admiration for a case of pistols, which he persuaded Edwards
to sell to him. He arranged to return with the prospective husband on the
morning of 9th May. He duly arrived on the appointed day, accompanied by
his 'nephew' (in reality his son.) and two others, whom he introduced as
friends. His wife would be arriving soon, he explained and in the meantime,
to while away the time, he suggested that Edwards showed them the jewels.
As Edwards reached the bottom of the stairs, he was overwhelmed and gagged.
The old man struggled to free himself and made as much noise as he could.
He was knocked about the head with a mallet, bravely, he continued to vigorously resist
until one of the villains stabbed him in the stomach.

They then set to work removing the regalia from the cupboard and
concealing them under their clothing. Blood himself crushed the crown to make it less
conspicuous under his parsons cloak. Just as it looked likely that their audacious plan was
likely to succeed, Edwards' son returned unexpectedly and raised the alarm. The gang was captured
as they tried to get away and all the jewels recovered.

Edwards was promised a reward of two hundred pounds but never received it, the unfortunate man died of his wounds shortly after. Blood himself fared much better
, King Charles II, intrigued by accounts of his exploits, wished to see the famous rogue. Disarmingly, he was never punished and was restored
to his confiscated estates in Ireland, which lead to whispers that the merry monarch himself was involved in the plot in some underhand way. John Evelyn gathered that
Colonel Blood had been taken into the Kings service as a spy.